


Tooth and claw

by AdamJensens



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Horizon: Zero Dawn Fusion, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, Not Beta Read, Strangers to Lovers, kylux au, mild descriptions of violence and blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:13:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22256248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdamJensens/pseuds/AdamJensens
Summary: Hux lives on the verge of lands that belong to his tribe, away from others. He’s an outcast because of his fascination with the Ancient Ones, a race that once ruled the world and created the machines. During one of his journeys into a mysterious place called a cauldron he comes across a man dressed in black armor. Together they battle a mechanical beast but the stranger is injured in the process.[ kylux Horizon Zero Dawn AU ]
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Armitage Hux/Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Tooth and claw

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:   
> Nobody:  
> Absolutely nobody:  
> Not a single soul:  
> Me: another kylux AU let’s gooo!!!  
> Anyway. This story borrows some elements from HZD but not everything is the same.  
> Knowledge of the game isn’t needed, I’ll try to do my best to describe everything in a way that those who haven’t played it can understand what’s going on. If you have any questions or think I should explain something further – please don’t hesitate to tell me!  
> And I highly recommend you play Horizon Zero Dawn if you haven’t already. Aloy, the main character of HZD, is a redhead, so imagine Hux pretty much looks like her male version (I *may* draw him and include a fanart in later chapters but we'll see how it goes).

Hux takes a deep breath. He’s cold; so deep underground, surrounded by metal walls and a metal floor, his longs for getting back to the surface and look up in the sky. He can’t never quite predict what awaits him in this place. A cauldron, it’s called, though if Hux were to describe it, he’d say it resembles a belly of a mechanical beast. He should have stayed in his hut and prepare more for this adventure. His curiosity be damned. He wasted time coming here, didn’t find anything useful, and now he has to deal with a beast ready to violently murder him.

It’s not his best day.

The bow in his hands shakes just barely as he narrows his eyes at a machine that’s been following him through the corridors. Having distracted the beast with a hastily placed blast trap, he hid behind a railing, quickly drawing his bow. The machine triggered the traps but jumped back avoiding the blast, and now Hux has to deal with it or die, his body torn to shreds by its talons.

It’s a sawtooth. Hux hates sawtooths. They are persistent, never lose track of the prey they’re stalking, and their long fangs and sharp claws make them near perfect killing machines. Not to mention that their massive body is heavily armored.

_At least they can’t turn invisible like those damn stalkers_ , Hux thinks and draws an arrow from a quiver hanging at the back of a leather belt on his waist. He only has four arrows left. He better not miss or this will be the last mistake he makes.

He kneels behind a railing, prepares to shot, eyes focused on the machine. It keeps its head low as if sniffing. Hux inhales, bow ready, and it’s then that the beast sees him. A low growl comes from his open jaw and the sawtooth jumps right at Hux, front legs outstretched, claws ready to tear into his tender flesh.

The arrow hits a canister of blaze in the machine’s chest, and the beast shrieks when it explodes. The sawtooth falls on the ground with a dull thud, its powerful paws digging in the metal floor with razor sharp claws. It’s stunned, unable to move for mere seconds before it goes back up enraged by the ambush.

Hux has little time to attack. He makes every second count.

He jumps over the railing, his bow dropped on the ground, forgotten for now. With a spear in hand he runs to the stunned machine, careful not to touch it as it shakes in spasms, sparks dancing on its body. He pushes the blade of his spear right behind its head, grunts and pushes it deeper, his muscles straining. The beast convulses once, twice, a noise like a distorted cry escapes from its massive jaw, its eyes flash red, and then its body stills, only a single spark, like a dying breath, appears near the place where Hux jammed his spear.

The machine lies unmoving, its body illuminated by a cold blue glow that’s the only source of light in the vast area of the cauldron. Hux wipes the sweat off his forehead and exhales. The cave is silent with only a faint sound of whirring coming from one of the corridors. He must have spent hours here, wandering deeper and deeper, getting closer to the heart of the cauldron but after being spotted by the sawtooth, running away and defeating the best, he feels exhausted.

Pressing his hand to his side Hux hisses. While running away he fell down a shaft and now his side is surely bruised. If he’s lucky nothing’s broken. There’s only little water left in a waterskin he carries; he drinks greedily whatever’s left and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. His head feels heavy. He’s so tired he could lie down on the cold metal floor and fall asleep here and now if it wasn’t so damn cold down here. It would be stupid to do so, after all he doesn’t want to freeze to death or get spotted by another machine, that’s why he picks up his bow and takes one more look at the dead machine, resigning from stripping its metal parts. He’ll come back here one day.

He taps a small triangle he wears near his temple and the device activates, displaying a path that will take him to the surface. The Focus is a helpful thing that saved him many times before. To this day Hux isn’t sure what’s the exact purpose of this handy device. It aids him greatly in many things, from gathering herbs, making their location known to him, to scanning machines and displaying their weak points which is invaluable in battle. Hux quickly learned to appreciate all the help he could get from the device after he found it in a ruin that once belonged to the Ancient Ones.

It’s a long climb up but he doesn’t have the luxury to complain. The cauldron is built with metal and wires. Hux doesn’t care much who built it or why; it’s enough he got to find one and explore some part of it. There’s no time to see what secrets are hidden in its deepest part. He needs rest first, adventuring can wait.

After a short climb he returns to a vast chamber he’s pretty sure is close to the entrance. It was here the sawtooth ambushed him, forcing him to run for his life. Hux didn’t have time to appreciate the surroundings, so now he stops and glances around looking for clues that could help him understand the purpose of this place.

It’s all metal; walls, the floor and ceiling. Behind the walls _something_ whirrs and beeps, like there was some old machine waiting to burst through and attack. It’s cold in here and Hux shivers. He left his fur cloak back in his hut, he needs to remember to take it if he returns here. Big orbs are edged into the walls, they emit cold blue light that bathe the place in an eerie glow. Blue and black wires go up the walls, some of them as wide as a tree trunk, others thin.

All this metal around him is unnatural. There’s not a single blade of grass, not a tree growing here. It’s all distant and cold, and it makes Hux think of death. A cold shiver runs down his spine. He needs to get out of here.

Before he can hear footsteps his Focus activates on its own, alerting him of danger. There’s movement in the corridor leading to the entrance. Hux grabs the spear from his back. The Focus displays information about a machine running towards the room where he’s in and Hux’s heart sinks – it’s another sawtooth. He doesn’t have enough arrows, besides he’s so exhausted he can barely stand. He considers running away again, down the path he just came from. Then again he can’t stay underground much longer, he needs water, food and rest, not another fight with a merciless machine.

But why is the beast here? It couldn’t possibly sense him from all the way to the surface. What is it doing down here?

He braces himself, grips the spear so hard his knuckles go white. He was trained to fight since he was strong enough to hold a spear. He can get through this. He’s smarter than any machine.

Then the Focus shows him another information. The machine is chasing a human.

Hux can barely register it when he sees him, a tall man in black and purple clothing appearing from the corridor. He’s running away from the sawtooth, holding a broken sword in his hand. When Hux sees what the stranger is wearing a silent gasp escapes from his lips. Distracted, he lowers his bow.

The man wears black armor, pieces of small black metal plates forged together to form a neckpiece (looks rather uncomfortable if someone asked Hux), a breastplate, as well as gauntlets and greaves. Under the armor he wears clothes in deep purple. Other than that he has a wide leather belt on his waist, and sandals made out of black leather.

There’s only one tribe that specializes in forging black metal and making it into armors and weapons – Carja. Hux never saw any of their people but heard stories about their marvelous cities full of wonders. Some say their Sun – King Snoke is a tyrant. Hux doesn’t know much about them to have any opinion other than wonder why would they wear such uncomfortable, constrictive clothing like this man he now sees.

What is a Carja man doing here, so far away from their capital?

And why is this man down here, in a cauldron of all possible places, chased by a beast?

Hux figures all questions he has will have to wait until this chaos is resolved. He aims and fires, then curses when the arrow hits the machine in the head, breaking one of its optical sensors that erupts in sparks. The beast growls, enraged. Hux reaches for another arrow. He’s too distracted to aim properly. He _needs_ to steady his breath.

The man drops down, sword ready to strike, not far from Hux. Their eyes meet; he stranger has brown eyes with eyelids painted black. The other thing Hux notices are moles standing out on his pale face, and a long nose.

It’s not time to stare at others, so his eyes return to the machine. Nothing matters more than getting rid of it before it tears them both into pieces. The sawtooth turns its giant head to the stranger, as if sniffing in the air, then its murderous gaze is back on Hux. Another growl, and it darts right at Hux, faster and more agile than any human warrior could ever be.

The arrow misses, the machine jumping away in one swift motion, and Hux feels panic rising in his throat. He tumbles backwards, hand frantically reaching for another arrow but it’s too late, the beast is right by him, the Focus flashing alerts all around his vision, and in a split second Hux sees a reflection of himself in the machine’s optical sensor.

Cold dread seizes his heart. He doesn’t want to die. Not like this, away from the sky and sun, in a cold, lifeless place full of metal and wires.

The beast groans when a broken blade hits it right in the head, black sword lodged deep in its skull. Hux stares at the stranger who grips the sword’s handle and grunts, pushing it deeper. Black locks cling to his face, sweat glistens on his forehead. Sparks fly, the sawtooth emits a sound like a shriek of pain and wobbles to the side.

The sword is stuck, it doesn’t move anymore no matter how hard the man pushes. If he hoped to chop off the beast’s head then his plan failed. The sawtooth raises its paw and Hux cries out, certain the man is dead. The beast can break a tree trunk with its claws, there’s no way a person can survive a direct hit.

But the stranger still stands. The machine tore his shirt and there are scratches on his chest piece but other than that he appears unharmed. Hux marvels at the sight. The heavy armor doesn’t seem like a bad idea anymore.

The man takes a step back, panic painted on his face. With his sword lodged into the machine’s body, he’s left without any weapons. He has a sheath on his thigh, most likely for a knife, but it’s empty, the blade gone before he found himself in the cauldron. His eyes open wide and Hux sees it then – acceptance of defeat, the face of a man whose heart breaks.

Hux whistles. “Catch!” he screams, throwing his spear.

Time moves in slow motion, everything happening all at once. The man catches the spear. Hux inhales. He already has an arrow in place. The Focus tells him how to shoot to hit the target. The sawtooth opens its jaws, claws outstretched to grab the Carja warrior.

Hux exhales. He’s smarter than any machine. The arrow hits a canister of blaze and he beast’s shriek dies out right as the spear pierces through its jaw. The stranger yells, ignoring the claws digging into his arm, as he pushes the spear once more, then tears it out. Sparks fly all around the sawtooth’s giant head, its body twitching in uncontrollable spasms. Its growls gets distorted in a way that sends a chill down Hux’s spine.

The stranger attacks again, stabs the beast right in the head. His muscles strain and he huffs when he pierces the spear through the sawtooth’s head. There’s one more growl that’s abruptly cut off when the beast finally collapses, defeated, Hux’s spear sticking out of its head, blaze seeping through the broken canister.

The man falls on his knees, panting heavily. Blood flows from deep cuts on his right arm, dripping on the cold metal floor. His eyes move to Hux, his lips quiver as he opens them to say something – but he doesn’t because his eyes roll back and he falls unconscious, landing on the metal floor with a dull thud.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: if you’re curious how a sawtooth looks like check out [HZD wiki](https://horizonzerodawn.fandom.com/wiki/Sawtooth)  
> Hope my descriptions are ok – ish and things are more or less clear so far. I also don’t want to put too much exposition here. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!


End file.
